


Way of Light

by ryukoishida



Series: Life in Technicolor [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Babysitter AU, M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-19
Updated: 2014-07-19
Packaged: 2018-02-09 12:40:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1983366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryukoishida/pseuds/ryukoishida
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is asking Farlan for help in winning Tristan’s custody from the boy’s grandparents, while Eren is trying his best to support in any way he can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Way of Light

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the first installation or this won’t make sense. All my “knowledge” of court cases regarding child custody comes from my watching of TVB lawyer dramas, which is to say, I really don’t have much knowledge about the topic at all, so please excuse all silly mistakes.

            “What do you think, Farlan? Can you help me?” Levi’s voice doesn’t sound any different than any other day – distant and analytical – but it’s the nervous tapping against his glass of water that gives him away.

 

            Farlan Church looks up from the document in his hands, his hazel eyes troubled. “Are you certain you want to do this, Levi? Wouldn’t it be better for Tristan in the long-term for Mr. and Mrs. Magnolia to take custody of him? They are his grandparents after all, and that’d mean—” He considers his next words carefully as he understands how sensitive this topic is to his best friend; he decides to say it anyway, if only to ease his own mind by telling himself that this is all for Levi’s benefit. “That’d mean he’ll be off your hands.”

 

            The fingers encircling around the glass freeze still and tighten, as if choking the life out of something invisible, and Farlan is afraid that Levi might break it just from his sheer strength. It wouldn’t be the first time.

 

            “You’ve never met Isabel’s parents, have you?” Levi knows Farlan hasn’t, but he asks this redundant question anyway because he needs to make this point very clear. “They are the reason why Isabel ran away from home when she was just fourteen; they are the reason why I found her close to dying on the street – starving and beaten; they are the reason why she had so few friends, because she found it hard to trust anyone when her own parents deserted and neglected her. I’m not letting Tristan go anywhere near those pieces of shit, let alone live with them.” Levi finally places the glass down on Farlan’s desk with a dull clink, the water inside sloshing violently from the force.

 

            “Levi…” Farlan isn’t sure of how to react. It’s a rare occasion to see the usually impassive man gets agitated like this. Though the volume of his voice never increases, it is the too-calm tone – like the deadly silence right before an oncoming storm – that’s a sure sign of Levi’s true fury.

 

            “It’s not a matter of responsibility anymore,” Levi continues, looking straight at Farlan with fierce, dark eyes, and the lawyer sits up a little straighter. “I can’t let Tristan suffer the same fate as his mother, do you understand? That’s why I’m doing all I can to stop this from happening.”

 

            “Alright,” Farlan nods solemnly as he places both of his clasped hands on the table before him. “But here’s just a heads-up: the court will usually summon the child in question in order to ask about the child’s own wishes, to see who he’d like to live with if he was given a choice since the judge will take that into consideration as well. Do you think Tristan will be able to handle that?”

 

            “I’ll talk to him about it and get him mentally prepared,” Levi assures him.

 

            “Well, from what you’ve told me so far, if we can find enough evidence to prove that Mr. and Mrs. Magnolia are not suitable guardians due to their past neglect and abuse of their own daughter, we will definitely have a very good chance of winning,” the lawyer jots down a few notes on his writing pad, and when he looks up again, Levi can see the familiar fire in the man’s hazel eyes whenever he gets fervent about a case, and it is usually this vicious, determined flame that ensures many of his clients’ victories in the past.

 

            “I really appreciate you doing this, Farlan,” Levi gives him a grateful look, the coldness of his eyes melting just a bit.

 

            “Just leave this all to me.”

 

-

 

            “So does that mean that Tristan will have to show up at court in front of all those people?” Eren asks as he forks a piece of tortellini from the plate but doesn’t bring it to his mouth.

 

            “No. Farlan said they’ll set up a laptop with video camera and microphone in a separate room so that he’ll only be able to see the judge, Farlan, and the Magnolias’ lawyer. Tristan will also be accompanied by a representation from the child services to assess his emotional responses in case something goes wrong.” Levi looks pointedly at the forgotten piece of pasta still hanging off the end of Eren’s fork, silently urging him to eat his dinner before it gets cold.

 

            The brunet stuffs it into his mouth and chews, though all flavours are lost as his mind is preoccupied with the current conversation topic.

 

            Tristan’s already in bed an hour ago, but Levi has invited Eren to stay for a late dinner. The younger man finds no good reason to deny so he stays, watching Levi in surprise as he moves around the kitchen efficiently to prepare a quick meal for the both of them. As it turns out, when Levi puts his mind to it and if time allows, the man can actually whip up quite a decent dinner. Eren jokingly tells him so, which earns him a half-hearted glare from the black-haired man.

 

            It’s been three weeks since the kiss. With Levi’s work schedule and Eren’s classes, it’s hard for them to spend any alone time together, especially when they constantly have the four-year-old in the house to consider. So they make do by squeezing time to meet up in between lunch breaks and staying at Levi’s for late night meals, stealing kisses and touches here and there.

 

            “Have you told Tristan about it yet?”

 

            “I explained the situation to him as simply as possible – that his mom’s parents want him to stay with them and that he can pick who he wants to live with but he just needs to answer some questions. He seems to understand what’s going on for the most part,” Levi stares at his food listlessly but not really seeing it; he sets his utensils down carefully on the table without another word and instead, chugs the entire glass of water down in one long gulp.

 

            “Levi.” Eren reaches across the table and holds Levi’s hand in his. Initiating gestures like this is getting easier and easier, now that he knows he’s wanted – that the other man won’t push him away.

 

            He lifts his head at the soft call of his name and sees the unbelievably tender light in Eren’s turquoise eyes. There’s nothing that comes out of this man’s mouth Levi doesn’t trust.

 

            “I’ll talk to Tristan, too. Well, we shouldn’t give him too much pressure and he already knows he wants to stay with you, but just a boost of confidence and some mental preparation never hurts anyone, especially if Tristan might freeze up when he gets questioned by people he doesn’t know.”

 

            “He’s a lot more open and happier now since you came along,” Levi says, giving Eren’s hand a light squeeze. “It’s really all thanks to you.”

 

            “You’re giving me too much credit, old man,” Eren snorts, retrieving his hand to grab his glass of water to take a sip and hoping that the action to hide the blush that’s blooming on his cheeks isn’t too obvious. He’s still not used to Levi just giving him compliments or shows random acts of affection out of the blue (not that he’s the type of person to show his affection in the public so offhandedly either) so at times like this, his body will just decidedly combust without his control.

 

            “I’m sorry for putting you through all this.” There’s perhaps half a second of hesitance – his arm extending towards Eren – but it’s brief and almost imperceptible as he lightly caresses Eren’s cheek with his thumb. Placing the glass back down on the dining table, Eren catches Levi’s hand in his and leans into his touch, eyes fluttering close.

 

            “Don’t be stupid, Levi,” his eyes remain closed but there’s a small smile on his lips. “I choose to stay, didn’t I? You didn’t force me into anything. I mean, you couldn’t possibly even if you’ve tried.”

 

            “With a stubborn brat like you, I’m sure that’s true,” Levi shoots back not unkindly.

 

            The two men stay still like this, food laid forgotten on the table, and neither of them is sure how much time has passed.

 

            “It kind of unnerves me sometimes,” Eren is the first to break the silence.

 

            “Hmm?”

 

            “When you’re being so gentle like this. It’s very unlike you,” Eren opens his eyes, the jade green reflecting a speck of mirth.

 

            “Would you like me to be rougher with you then?” Levi raised a critical brow.

 

            “Well, I guess that’s one way of putting it,” Eren laughs nervously as he shifts away and begins to clean up. Levi follows suit, gathering his own dishes and trails behind Eren into the kitchen where they just dump the plates and utensils into the sink. The brunet looks like he’s about to deal with the dirty dishes, but Levi pulls him back, Eren almost staggering and his back knocks squarely against his chest.

 

            “Um. Levi?” His voice might have gone half an octave higher with confusion and surprise.

 

            “Just leave those. I’ll do them later.” He licks the sensitive spot right behind Eren’s ear, his arms around the man’s waist tighten just the slightest, and he can feel Eren’s frame shivering in anticipation. “Right now, I’d rather we do something else.”

 

            “Yeah? Like what?” He turns around in Levi’s embrace and smirks crookedly down at him, his verdigris irises darkening.

 

            Levi traces one light finger down the side of the taller man’s face and finally settles a hand on the back of Eren’s neck; he pulls him down so that he can reach his mouth but only hovers close to the corner of his lips enough to whisper the words, “Something along the lines of this…”

 

            He winds his fingers into Eren’s hair before the brunet eagerly leans down so he can kiss Levi properly, their mouths immediately finding each other’s in a heated kiss, teeth dragging against lower lips, tongues delving in deeper to taste, to devour.

 

            Eren’s hands somehow find their way underneath the hem of Levi’s shirt and are dragging fingernails down the pale skin of his lean back, leaving behind faint lines of pink at the friction. Levi arches his back and brings his hips closer to Eren’s, who can only whimper in response, any other recognizable syllables getting swallowed up by Levi’s relentless mouth.

 

            In the process of their heavy kissing, Levi has crowded Eren up against the fridge, the coldness of the metal seeping through the his thread-bare t-shirt. It’s getting really hard for Eren to control the whines coming out of his throat, especially when Levi’s tongue keeps doing the thing he’s doing along his neck – licking and biting until his pulse quickens into a frantic flight – and down and down he goes, one hand pulling aside the collar of his shirt so that he can better access Eren’s collar bone.

 

            “L-Levi,” he murmurs, his hand fisting the smaller man’s shirt behind him when Levi hits an especially receptive spot, pulling him closer – and still, it isn’t enough. He feels Levi’s hands wandering to his belt buckle and suddenly realizes what he’s about to do; Eren grasps Levi’s hands in his, stilling them as they breathe raggedly, foreheads touching and skin blooming a placid red. “What—”

 

            “Been wanting to do this,” he mutters in a low voice against his neck, breath warming his skin there, “if you’d let me, Eren, please.”

 

            “But Tristan,” Eren protests weakly. Though his mouth objects, his body doesn’t seem to agree, if his unyielding grasp on Levi’s slender waist and the heat low in his abdomen is any indication.

 

            “My room.” Without waiting for Eren’s response, the black-haired man drags him out into the hallway, as silently as possible when they pass by Tristan’s bedroom, and into Levi’s room. As soon as the door clicks close behind them, Levi once again attacks Eren’s mouth with his own, this time even more earnest and fervent than before, as if he physically cannot stand being too far apart from the taller man.

 

            And this time, when Levi rubs a tentative hand against Eren’s front, Eren doesn’t even try to stop him, only releases a breathy gasp at the contact. He lets Levi undo his belt and he just about loses it when the black-haired man drops to his knees, bringing Eren’s jeans and boxers down with him to the ground.

 

            Levi glances upwards, dark lashes framing roguish, silver eyes as Eren’s dazed, smaragdine ones meets his, and as he kisses up his thigh, smooth skin crawling with heat and Levi’s fingertips touching the back of his knees reverently, it takes all of Eren’s concentration to hold himself up, his body all of a sudden feeling too heavy and drunken to function.

 

            With his gaze still locked on Eren’s, Levi licks from base to tip as Eren’s fingers in his hair begin to tighten, and before Eren has time to take another breath, the raven-haired man swallows him whole, grey eyes slipping close as he sucks, the wet noises and appreciative hums sending vibrations up Eren’s spine.

 

            “Sh-shit,” Eren mutters, lower lip bitten red and swollen. The fingers in his hair wind with more force, but it only causes Levi to suck and lick more keenly while taking in the little moans and curses falling out of Eren’s mouth. When he looks up again, he sees the younger man has shut his eyes, head thrown back against the door and neck vulnerably exposed, but the way he turns his head away, lips clamped in an attempt to control the volume of his voice only serves to drive Levi to suck with more enthusiasm, determined that he should pull out more lewd noises from the brunet. One of his hands wanders to Eren’s backside, a probing finger lightly circling his entrance, testing his reaction.

 

            Eren widens his eyes at the unexpected intimate contact, blinking disjointedly at the man kneeling before him, his breathing coming out in uneven, laborious bursts. “Levi…”

 

            A particularly well-timed lick of his tongue against his slit chokes off any words Eren is about to say, only managing a broke “f-fuck” and syllables that somewhat resemble Levi’s name.

 

            “What happened to no foul language in the house?” Levi chuckles, pulling himself off of Eren’s cock, flushed and wet with pre-cum and Levi’s spit. His tone is hoarse and raw.

 

            “Shut up and suck me,” Eren commands, but the shakiness and breathlessness of his voice sound more like begging than anything else.

 

            “What a rude, demanding brat,” Levi responds by teasingly tracing the jutted bone of his hips, and feels the shivers even with this simple touch is able to evoke. He places a gentle kiss there where his fingers have ghosted over.

 

            “Please?” There is no denying the need in his soft, wrecked voice this time, or the plea in those beautiful verdigris irises staring so earnestly back at him.

 

            “I think I’m really starting to enjoy this side of you,” Levi murmurs, his attention turning back to Eren’s leaking cock, his lips ghosting over the hot, moist skin.

 

            “W-what do you mean?” Eren bangs his head with a dull thud against the door when he feels himself being enveloped by that warmth once more, hand automatically finding its way to Levi’s hair and loosely grasping the strands.

 

            For a moment, it doesn’t look like Levi is going to answer, as he is too busy concentrating on trying to take more of Eren into his mouth and fingers tracing patterns on his inner thighs; the slight shivering in Eren’s legs doesn’t escape Levi’s notice, and the thought that the brunet is unwinding because of him is a powerful, burning one.

 

            “You are too tempting for your own good when you beg,” he licks along the vein on the underside teasingly, ripping a shuddering gasp from the other man, before smirking up at him. “Especially when you use that voice.”

 

            “You…”

 

            Levi never finds out what Eren’s about to say, because as he goes back to sucking his cock, the head occasionally hitting the back of his throat and the suffocation is both excruciating and pleasurable, Eren’s words have disintegrated into sighs and quiet whines of “please” and “more” and other unintelligible sounds.

 

            Feeling the increasingly tight and desperate clutch of Eren’s hand on his shoulder, Levi can tell that the brunet is close, so with a firm hold on his hips, the raven-haired man sucks harder, wanting nothing more than to make Eren falls apart all over him.

 

            “Levi, I’m g-gonna—”

 

            The taste of salt and musk fills Levi’s mouth as he breathes through his nose, feeling the heavy heat on his tongue throbbing in release; he swallows as much as he can, the flavour foreign on his palette but not necessarily in an unpleasant way. When he feels Eren’s length softens, he releases him with an exhausted but satisfied sigh and glances up, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

 

            Eren’s eyes are shut, but his lips have been bitten raw and invitingly red, and droplets of sweat streak down his neck and disappear below the neckline of his shirt, his chest is still heaving with uneven breaths.

 

            It’s such a rare and wonderful sight for Levi, who’s still kneeling in front of him with brightened eyes, that he wishes he can store this image in his memory. Yet even more than that, he wishes he can see that expression again and again – the flush of his cheeks, the small bashful smile lifting the corner of his lips as their eyes meet, and the gentle kiss they share as Levi rises to his feet, Eren still able to taste himself on Levi’s tongue.

 

            This court case with the Magnolias is not going to be an easy fight; he knows this the moment he received the phone call from Isabel’s mother months ago. He also knows that there’s a chance that Tristan may not be able to stay by his side, though he keeps refusing to acknowledge this possibility. Left by himself, Levi might have let the cycle of corroding thoughts eat at him until he’s nothing but skin and bones, but with Farlan’s skills and Eren’s support, Levi manages to hold himself up and keep going.

 

            “Uncle Levi…” The voice is muffled by the closed door, but they can both hear it: Tristan’s soft, frightened tone out in the hallway, searching for his guardian.

 

            “Shoot.” Eren quickly pulls his pants up and moves aside to let Levi open the door.

 

            As Levi bends down to pick up the child, patting his back in a consoling manner while the boy sniffles into the man’s shoulder noisily, he realizes that there’s nothing he can do other than caring for his best friend’s son as if he were his own. Who Tristan Magnolia ends up living with isn’t in his power to decide; he needs to trust Farlan in this account.

**Author's Note:**

> I've split this into two parts (because it's gonna be a hella long wait if you want the complete thing right now since I'm going back to work next week), so watch for the next update... soonish?


End file.
